Carefully designed drip legs enable steam traps to

properly drain condensate from mains

stream as it forms on pipe walls. These water
droplets are carried along, mixed with steam,
at velocities that can exceed 100 mph. To sep-
arate the condensate from high-velocity
steam, the drip leg must be large enough to
provide expansion in the flow area, reducing
gas velocity and allowing condensate to drop
out. If the drip leg is not large enough, the
pressure drop created at the interface of the
steam line and the drip leg draws condensate
out of the drip leg and steam trap. In applica-
tions where dry steam is essential, it is prefer-
Recommended Steam Main and
Branch Line Drip Leg Sizing
able to use a steam separator to provide flow
reduction, and drain with an adequate drip
leg.
If condensate accumulates in the flowing
steam, it reduces steam quality. This reduces
the amount of heat transferred from the steam
delivered downstream and increases operat-
ing costs. The erosive force of condensate
droplets being whipped along at 100 mph is
roughly analogous to a major hurricane. As
pipe walls and heat exchanger surfaces are
eroded by the water blast, they begin to leak
or fail. Control valves, ends of mains, and
expansion loops also become eroded and
eventually fail when subjected to these forces.

M D H Drip Leg Design

-- ~ ,: Oflfi~C~g:~r;~nQth_,-;:-_-~J~~, :J.J1-~: Given these three flow dynamics, it is
Steam Main Drip '-~g Supervi$ed Automatic · obvious that, to be effective, a drip leg must
Size, in.··.. Dic:tmeter, in. Warlll-Up Warm-.Up be as carefully designed as the rest of the
steam system. Following a few simple sizing
~ 10 28 guidelines enables the steam trap to drain
% 10 28 condensate from the main throughout the
1 10 28 operating cycle of any steam system.
2 2 10 28 In general, for steam mains up to 4 in. in
10 28
diameter, the drip leg should be constructed
3 3
from the same size pipe as the main. For
4 4 10 28 steam mains larger than 4 in., the drip leg
6 4 10 28 should be half the diameter of the main but
8 4 12 28 never less than 4 in. The distance from the
10 6 15 28 bottom of the main to the top of the trap, in
12 6 18 28 inches, divided by 28 yields the amount of sta-
14 8 21 28 tic head, in psi, available to push condensate
Fig. 4. Drip legs 16 8 24 28 through the trap on startup. The accompany-
must be large 18 10 27 28 ing table gives recommendations for sizing of
enough to allow 20 10 30 30 steam mains and branch drip legs when the
condensate to drop trap discharges to a gravity return.
out of the stream at 24 12 36 36 On automatic startup, when return lines are
the pipe bottom. elevated or pressurized, special precautions
should be taken to prevent flooding. The best
method is to collect the trap discharge in a
Effect Of Drip Leg Size nonpressurized receiver and use a pump or a
pumping trap to raise condensate or overcome
back pressure.
The best way to trap drip legs is by using an
inverted bucket (LB.) steam trap. This trap
effectively handles accumulations of dirt and
slugs of condensate. The I.B. trap drains con-
densate as it forms, has low maintenance
requirements, and has a long operating life. If
the trap does fail, it usually fails open, pre-
cluding system flooding and dangerous water
hammer.

Reprinted from PLANT ENGINEERING September 9, 1993

© 1993 by CAHNERS PUBLISHING COMPANY